by A. E. Radley
She finished her last delivery on the eleventh floor and made her way to the elevator. As she waited for the elevator to arrive, she wondered about the eager butterflies that bounced around her stomach each day when she entered the twelfth floor. There was something about the twelfth floor. It may have been because it was the second-to-last floor, or maybe because Selina Hale was based there.
Can’t be, she told herself. I rarely see her.
Most times Kate only caught glimpses of Selina in her office as she handed the post to Gemma. Sometimes the office was empty, and Kate did her best to ignore the empty feeling that welled up inside her.
Now and then, Gemma was away from her desk and Selina was in. Kate usually took the opportunity to go into Selina’s office and speak with her for a few minutes. Technically, she could leave the post in Gemma’s in-tray but told Selina that she’d been instructed to not leave post unattended. This was not entirely true.
She pushed the trolley onto the twelfth floor and was ridiculously pleased to see Gemma standing in the corridor taking a phone call. A personal one, if she wasn’t mistaken.
It wasn’t the first time she’d caught Gemma sneaking away from her desk for personal reasons. Based on what she had learnt about Selina, it was quite a risk to take.
Kate nodded politely at Gemma as she passed by.
She wondered why Selina hadn’t fired Gemma yet. She hated to admit it, but she could now see what Selina was talking about when she said that Gemma was all-consumed with her pregnancy and had no interest at all in her work.
Having a job that involved walking around the building meant that Kate easily spotted people who were away from their desks. Terry from corporate finance was always “stretching his legs”. Jeanne was another person who spent more time chatting to people than at her own desk, and Gemma was forever on the phone in a corridor somewhere.
Kate couldn’t understand why people took such risks, especially when someone like Selina would fire them in a heartbeat.
She rounded the corner and came to a stop.
There was a woman in Selina’s office. She looked like she shouldn’t be there. She had her coat on and a bag slung over her shoulder as if she had just walked in from outside. Then she realised that Selina was standing before her, and the two women were… arguing?
Without thinking, Kate abandoned the trolley and rushed into Selina’s office in case something was amiss.
“I can’t believe you just marched in here. Security should have thrown you out!” Selina was shouting.
Kate blinked. She’d never heard Selina raise her voice. Selina never needed to. She was terrifying enough without requiring any additional volume.
The intruder was maybe in her late forties and had long, dark brown hair. She wore glasses and had a kind expression.
“I wouldn’t be here if you replied to any of my texts, calls, letters, or any of my solicitors’ texts, call, or letters. We are still technically married, you know.”
Kate felt the air leave her lungs. This was the ex-wife. Carrie, she reminded herself.
“I can’t even hear you.” Selina sat down at her desk, dragged her laptop closer, and focused on the screen.
“Selina, we need to talk,” Carrie said.
Selina completely blocked her out.
Carrie huffed and shook her head. “You’re honestly like a child. I have no idea how I stayed married to you for so long.”
Selina didn’t reply. She continued to work as if no one were there.
Carrie turned to Kate and smiled. “Hi, I’m Carrie Lane.” She held out her hand politely.
Kate shook her hand. “Hey, I’m Kate Morgan.”
“Are you from security?” Carrie asked.
“No, post room. Just happened to be passing.”
Carrie grinned. “Post room? In that case, would you mind passing on a message for me?” She nodded her head playfully towards Selina.
Kate smiled. “I can try.”
“Could you please tell Selina that I am only requesting that she signs paperwork in order to release me from the apartment and our joint business. I don’t want a part of either.”
Kate looked at Selina, knowing full well that she had heard every single word. Selina didn’t move an inch.
“Selina?” she asked.
Selina blinked and looked up. “Oh, hello, Kate. How can I help you?”
Is she really going to do this? Kate wondered before remembering who she was dealing with. Of course, Selina was going to be as obnoxious and difficult as possible.
“Carrie said that she wants you to sign paperwork to release her from the apartment and your joint business. She doesn’t want a part of either,” Kate repeated.
Selina chuckled as if Kate was some poor innocent with no idea of the way the world worked. “Kate, be a dear and please tell Carrie that I have no intention of signing that agreement because I’m fully aware that she really wants a portion of the pension fund that she insisted I set up.”
She turned her focus back to her laptop.
Kate sighed and turned to Carrie, who said, “Tell her that I am legally entitled to a portion of that pension, and she was the one who set it up. Besides, I don’t want it. I just want this to be over.”
Kate nodded and turned to Selina. “You heard that, right?”
Selina carried on typing. “Heard what?”
“You’re difficult to like, you know,” Kate said. “Carrie said that she doesn’t want the pension. She just wants this to be over.”
“Please inform Carrie that the very first document she sent me demanded half of my pension and a good third of the savings account. I wasn’t born yesterday.”
Carrie snorted a laugh. “Truer words were never spoken.”
“I wasn’t born yesterday,” Selina repeated, louder this time. “I know that entering into discussion will only lead to Carrie’s rottweiler of a solicitor picking over my dead carcass.”
Carrie was shaking her head. “Tell her…” She paused. “I’m sorry, Kate, was it?”
Kate nodded.
“I’m sorry, we shouldn’t be putting you into the middle of this. We are grown women, I promise.” Carrie turned to Selina. “That letter was a mistake. It hadn’t been agreed to by me. I explained this to you time and time again. I don’t want anything; I just want to be free of this. You must want that, too.”
Selina typed slowly, obviously hearing but ignoring everything around her.
Carrie’s shoulders sagged. “If you don’t start talking to me, I’ll have to take this further. I don’t want to do that, but I can’t live in this limbo any longer.”
Selina’s attention was fully turned to her laptop. It was clear that no one was going to get through to her now.
Carrie turned and looked at Kate. “Again, I’m sorry, that was very childish of us. You’re not our personal peacekeeper.”
Kate shrugged. “It’s okay. I used to work on a mediation helpline, so I’ve dealt with much worse.”
Carrie’s eyes shone with interest. “A helpline?”
“Yes, it was a charity. We dealt with calls from people who were having trouble with their landlords or their employers. We’d sometimes be on calls for both sides to act as mediators.”
Carrie was smiling and nodding. “Wonderful, that’s just wonderful. So, how did you end up here?”
Kate ran a nervous hand through her hair. “Well, I… long story short, my life kind of unravelled and I ended up homeless. I was homeless for about a year until I met Selina and she helped me, and I ended up here.”
Carrie grinned knowingly and glanced at Selina. “Did she now?”
“Yes, she’s got a heart of gold, whether she wants to admit it or not,” Kate said a little defensively.
“I couldn’t agree more,” Carrie said. “Look, I know this isn’t the time or the place, but I run a council-led initiative to help older citizens not feel so alone. We’re desperately seeking a senior call operator. Would you be interested in apply
ing for something like that? We’ve been interviewing for months and we can’t find anyone who fits the bill, but I think you just might.”
Kate looked at Carrie in shock. “Um. I…”
“You should apply,” Selina said softly, without looking up.
Kate snapped her head towards Selina.
Is she angry at me? Does she want me gone? Kate worried.
She’d only stepped in to defend Selina from the stranger she’d spotted in her office. Somehow, she’d gotten herself more deeply involved in Selina’s life. She wondered if Selina regretted that.
At the continued silence, Selina glanced up. “It’s bound to be a better-paid position,” she said, “and is much more suited to your experience and will therefore give you a chance at professional development and a career path.”
Kate breathed again. She was ecstatic that Selina wasn’t angry at her. In fact, Selina was again putting her first.
“I don’t know,” she admitted. “I haven’t been here for long. I—”
“Don’t think about the firm. Think about what is best for you,” Selina insisted. She pointed a pen at Carrie. “She’s a relatively decent employer, and the council pay them well so it’s a secure job. Surely more interesting than what you’re doing now. I’d recommend you consider it. Carrie, I will call you this evening. Now, both of you, get out.”
The last two words were ground out with such venom that they didn’t need telling again. They quickly left the office, Kate closing the door behind them.
“I know this isn’t a conventional way to job-hunt,” Carrie said, “but I’d love to speak with you more about this role.”
Kate wasn’t sure. Leaving the safety of Addington’s and her team of misfits in the post room seemed liked a huge deal. Then again, she didn’t know if she could take many more weeks of pushing the trolley around the building, watching Clara filing printed emails, or seeing Ivor handwrite replies to spam emails from Nigerian princes.
“How long did you work on your helpline?”
Kate thought back. It felt like multiple lifetimes ago, but, in reality, it had only been a few years.
“I was there for about three years, started out as a part-time volunteer. Then I got asked to take a permanent role after… I think about three months.”
“And you liked the work?” Carrie asked.
Kate smiled at the memories. “Yeah, it was a great job. I mean, it was hard. Very hard. But the team and the job itself were great. No two days were the same, and you slept well knowing you’d made a difference.”
Carrie was grinning from ear to ear. She pulled a business card out of her bag and handed it to Kate. “Please call me. I’d love to tell you more about us and hear more about you, just a casual chat. We’ll see if we’re a good fit. But I already have a great feeling about this,” she said.
Kate looked at the card. Carrie was the chief executive. The big cheese, she thought to herself. She turned and looked through the glass partition at the other big cheese she knew.
“I don’t want to let Selina down. She got me this job,” Kate explained.
“They’ll manage. And she just said that you need to look out for you, which is damned good advice.” Carrie looked at Selina and shook her head as she started to button up her jacket. “She’s also quite likely to call security, so I’m going to go before I anger her. Seriously, call me and we can arrange a chat.”
Carrie disappeared into the corridor, and Kate looked down at the business card in her hand. It seemed like a good idea, but she was frightened of losing what she had.
This seemed to be a constant theme of her life lately, jumping from job to job. Kate’s natural instinct was to hold on tight and not rock the boat. She knew how quickly everything could fall away.
“Call her.”
Kate jumped. Selina had opened her office door and was now standing in the doorway with her arms folded and a steely expression etched on her face.
“I loathe her, but that’s no reason for you to. A senior role will pay well. You’re clearly qualified. She’s…” Selina swallowed uncomfortably. “She’s a good person. Well, she is to her staff. Call her.”
She took a step back and slammed the door closed.
“Thanks,” Kate muttered to the closed door. “I think I will.”
On the Move
“No… no… no… and absolutely not.” Selina handed the stack of CVs back to the HR minion. “None of these are any good. Find more.”
“But—”
“Now.” Selina pointed to her office door.
The minion looked at her fearfully before nodding and hurrying away.
Selina rolled her eyes. Surely it wasn’t this hard to find a temporary assistant. The HR department was acting as if it were akin to climbing Everest. She’d yet to even let someone through to the interview stage.
Everyone they suggested was either far too young with no experience, or far too old with the wrong kind of experience. She looked at Gemma through the glass partition. Gemma was shovelling pieces of chocolate into her mouth as if the expiry date were minutes away.
“Surely it can’t be hard to replace that,” she muttered to herself. Looking for a temporary replacement was still the least of her worries. Clients were leaving, profits were down, and Margaret was still planning an event on the scale of Sir Elton John’s birthday. Not a day went by without Selina having to veto a ridiculous amount of money which Margaret had somehow pushed past a weak board member.
Selina was aware she’d come through the other side of these setbacks soon enough, she always did. She’d dealt with worse and always ended up on top. A firm hand and an eye for detail got you a long way in her line of business, and Selina knew she was the best.
But it was a time for vigilance and extra hours.
Which were exhausting, even though she knew it would be worth it when she single-handedly saved the company and increased profit margins yet again. The thirteenth floor beckoned. Jonathan Addington had all but told her which one of the two empty offices would be hers.
He was visiting every other day now, in between client lunches and golfing sessions, asking for an update and complaining about the fact that his bonus was currently looking a little slim.
While she enjoyed the fact that he needed her, she’d also like a break from having to explain basic concepts to him.
Gemma hurriedly hid her chocolate, and Selina noticed Kate push the trolley in front of Gemma’s desk. They started talking, Gemma gesturing to her swollen belly and Kate grinning.
Selina had heard through the grapevine that Kate had accepted the job with Carrie. While she was unhappy that the post room’s efficiency would no doubt take a nosedive, she was happy that Kate was doing well.
The post room job had only ever been temporary, a safe place for Kate to get back into the working environment while Selina kept an eye on proceedings from afar. She was pleased that Kate had built up her confidence enough to apply for and accept a new role. It was an essential step for Kate to rebuild her life.
Kate gestured towards Selina’s door, so she quickly snatched up her pen and pretended she hadn’t been watching them both.
There was a knock on the doorframe and then the sound of footsteps as Kate invited herself in and stood in front of Selina’s desk.
“Hey,” she greeted.
Selina looked up and acted surprised at who was stood in front of her.
“Good afternoon,” she returned.
“It’s time for me to say goodbye,” Kate said.
Selina swallowed. For some reason she didn’t want to say goodbye. Knowing that Kate was somewhere in the building at all times had been a little like a security blanket for her. She’d lost count of the number of weeks which had passed since that dreadful night she had anxiously searched the streets for Kate. It was still a permanent feature of her nightmares, only soothed by the knowledge that she knew Kate was safe and just a few floors away.
All the same…
“Thank
you for all your hard work,” Selina said formally.
“Thank you for the opportunity. And for pushing me to call Carrie. You were right, I needed to look out for myself. This new job is back to doing something that matters, and I’d forgotten what that felt like. And Carrie’s helped me find an apartment. It’s a council outreach project that I didn’t know about, but it means that tomorrow I’ll officially have a place of my own.”
Excitement radiated from Kate, and Selina had to do her best to not get caught up in it.
“That really is wonderful news,” she said. “I’m very happy for you.”
“Brace yourself,” Kate said with a grin, “because you’re finally going to get that thank you that you wanted so badly all those months ago.”
Selina smiled, lowered her pen, and rested comfortably in her chair. “I’m ready, go ahead.”
“Thank you,” Kate said sincerely. “Joking aside, I cannot thank you enough.”
Selina held up her palm before Kate said anything else. She quickly stood up and held out her hand. “Thank you for all your hard work, and very best wishes for the future.”
Kate shook it. “I hope I’ll see you again,” she said.
Selina politely smiled, not prepared to say anything else. She didn’t know if she would see Kate again, and she wasn’t about to start mourning the possibility of this being the last time they spoke. Not only was she too busy for theatrics, she also didn’t want Kate to see her reaction.
Kate inclined her head. “Goodbye, Selina.”
“Goodbye, Kate.”
She watched her leave, trying to ignore the heavy stone that had lodged itself in her throat.
She sat down heavily. The thank you that would have seemed like such a victory some months ago now seemed so hollow and meaningless.
Kate had been right; Selina had desperately wanted gratitude in return for her kindness. It had been her main motivation at first. Things had changed, though Selina didn’t quite understand why. Or at least she wasn’t ready to acknowledge why.
Her phone rang, pulling her back to reality with a shrill tone. She tore her eyes away from Kate’s retreating form, silently wishing her the best as she did.